Security and Fire Alarm Systems Installers in Utah

May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$48,593
after federal, FICA and Utah tax
Tax takes
$12,557
20.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$51,149
Utah costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Utah — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$61,150
Kept after tax
$48,593
Worth in national money
$51,149
State rank
18
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Utah is 18 of 51 states for this job, with a middle wage of $61,150. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Against other work in Utah, this sits in the middle: 219 of 487 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- Here is where Utah does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $61,150 you keep $48,593, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $51,149 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $59,920, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Utah ranks 18 of 51 for security and fire alarm systems installers at $61,150. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Security and fire alarm systems installers ranks 219 of 487 occupations in Utah by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- After federal, FICA and Utah income tax, retained pay for security and fire alarm systems installers on $61,150 is $48,593. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $51,149 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $59,920 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Security and Fire Alarm Systems Installers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $43,690 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $61,150 |
| Top tenth earn over | $77,270 |
| This salary | $61,150 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Utah | $48,593 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $51,314 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,657 |
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $57,763 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,003 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 95 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $61,150 as a midpoint for Utah, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $43,690 and the ninetieth is $77,270 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Utah's $48,593, worked from $61,150. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 219 of 487.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $51,149 uses one figure for the whole of Utah. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 487 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 219.
- The Utah median of $61,150 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $43,690 to $77,270. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The Utah take-home of $48,593, on $61,150 for work ranking 219 of 487 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 219 of 487 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $51,149, worked from $61,150, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Utah address, on work sitting at 219 of 487 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $43,690 and the top tenth $77,270, so most people doing this work in Utah sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Utah is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $51,149 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Utah's own levy, $48,593 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($43,690 to $77,270) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Utah rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Utah's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $51,149 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $48,593 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Utah income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.